Project Description

The Last Ship

Steel in the stockyard, Iron in the soul, we’ll conjure up a ship where there used to be a hole

Northern Stage,
Newcastle

Sting’s musical, The Last Ship, finally returns to its home town of Newcastle. Re-written and re-designed for its UK premier, the show is brought to life by the set and video designs of 59 Productions.

Set during the Thatcher years, this political and passionate musical tells the story of Giddeon, a sailor returning home to Wallsend after 17 years away. He soon discovers the ship-building life he left behind in chaos, the yard is closing and no one knows what will come next. With the engine fired and pistons in motion, picket lines are drawn as foreman Jackie White and his wife Peggy fight to hold their community together in the face of the gathering storm.

The Last Ship opens at Northern Stage on the 12th March 2018 and then heads on a tour throughout the UK.

“Lorne Campbell, the artistic director of Northern Stage, has reworked the book for this new production, ditching some extraneous characters and subplots, and foregrounding only a couple of personal stories against the mighty backdrop of the shipyard, which is recreated in all its awesome height and depth by 59 Productions”